Bucyrus Puts Power Into Plow Names

Bucyrus has resolved a naming issue with its plow systems. For historical reasons, the plows had been named according to the chain type. This was confusing for customers. The issue has been resolved by renaming the plows based on their maximum installed drive power in kilowatts.

The new names are RHH 800, GH 800 and GH 1600.

The RHH is a Reisshakenhobel® – or base-plate plow. It is suitable for extremely thin seams as low as 0,6 m (23 in) and up to about 1,6 m (63 in). The plow chain is located in guides located on the gob side of the armored face conveyor, facilitating easy access. The plow itself is guided by a base plate under the conveyor, so no plow guide is needed on the face side. This allows the base plate plow to cut and load coal in the lowest of seams.

The Gleithobel® – or GH plow – is the plow of choice today for seams ranging from 0,9 m (35 in) up to 2,3 m (91 in), regardless of the incline of the seam or the hardness of the coal. The GH 800 allows installation of 800 kW (1,080 hp) of cutting power (2 x 400 kW/540 hp) and can mine seam heights in the range of approx. 0,9 m – 2,0 m (35 – 79 in) over a longwall of up to 400 m (1,300 feet). The maximum plow speed is 3 m/s (600 feet/min). The GH 1600 is the world’s most powerful longwall plow for maximum productivity and minimum cost of ownership in medium and thin seams – even for hard coal. The GH 1600 allows installation of a massive 1.600 kW (2,160 hp) of cutting power (2 x 800 kW/1,080 hp) and can mine seam heights in the range of approx. 1 m – 2,3 m (39 – 91 in) over a longwall of up to 400 m (1,300 feet). The 42 x 137 mm plow chain runs in a fully welded cast plow guide at a maximum speed of 3,6 m/s (720 feet/min).

As the global leader in this technology, Bucyrus delivers the world’s most powerful plow systems with optional remote control or full automation with no operator required at the face.